The Last Word
by Kedd
Summary: Jacob and Jack talk. Jacob likes to be right - or at least have the last word. S8, during 'Threads'. S/J UST.


**Title:** The Last Word**  
>Author:<strong> Kedd**  
>Summary:<strong> Jacob and Jack talk. Jacob likes to be right - or at least have the last word. S8, during 'Threads'. S/J UST.**  
>Rating:<strong> PG-13.

* * *

><p>"You know, Jack, when I first met you, I really didn't like you."<p>

General Jack O'Neill gave a small snort as he glanced sideways at his companion, before taking another swallow of his beer. He still wasn't sure why Jacob was here, but he was always willing to share a cold one with a friend – particularly when the evening was as nice as this one. He looked up briefly, tilting his bottle to get the last few drops, and scanned the skies for the familiar constellations of good old Earth. Still a bit too cloudy to really make anything out, but the skies were expected to clear overnight, so there was still hope. He reached into the nearby cooler for another beer, casually replacing the empty bottle as he screwed the top off the new one. Looking back at Jacob he halfheartedly made a gesture to offer the Tok'ra another one, even though he knew Jake still had some left.

"I'm fine, Jack." Jacob waved off the refreshment with ease. "But you're quiet. Where's the glib comeback?"

"Jacob – most people don't like me when they first meet me. Daniel didn't, Carter didn't, Hammond didn't – hell, Sara didn't, and she married me." Jack grinned crookedly. "Frankly, I'd be more concerned if you_ had_ liked me." The look on Jacob's face was priceless, a combination of surprise and amusement, with a hint of incredulity thrown in. "What?" Jack paused in bringing his fresh beer to his mouth, "Don't believe me? Ask around – they'll tell you, I'm sure."

"Seriously? None of them liked you?" Jacob might like Jack better now, but that didn't mean he had an easier time reading the man. And for someone involved in something so serious, the man spent a hell of a lot of his time joking around.

Jack chuckled. "Nope. Daniel thought I was a hard-ass military asshole, Carter thought I was a chauvinistic asshole, Hammond thought I was a lying asshole, and Sara, well, I think she just thought I was an asshole." He paused, his eyes focusing on the horizon as he thought back through the years.

"Bit of a common theme there."

"Thanks, Jake, I hadn't noticed." Jack grinned. "So what shade of asshole did you think I was?" He was genuinely interested. He respected Jacob Carter a heck of a lot, and often felt in tune with the man, even though it was hard to reconcile all that with the knowledge that there was a snake in Jake's head participating in this conversation on some level too.

Jacob sat for a minute, wondering just how honest he wanted to be. _'You do not have the time to be anything less that perfectly honest, Jacob,'_ Selmak chimed in, albeit weakly,_ 'And I think, in this circumstance, the blunter the better. O'Neill has thick walls to breach, as you say.'_ Jacob watched Jack fidget out of the corner of his eye, keeping his body positioned so as to appear to be looking straight ahead. "I thought you were the kind of asshole who was sleeping with his 2IC." He and Selmak shared a smile internally, as Jack nearly dropped his bottle before regaining his composure. The white-knuckled grip on the arm of his chair and the stillness of his face were the only indications that Jacob's comment had bothered him.

"Jacob." Jack's voice was deadly serious, and Jacob found himself compelled to look Jack in the eye. "I would _never_ do that."

Jacob waved off his assertion with ease. Unfortunately, that was too true. "Relax, Jack. I know that now." He gave a half-grin. "But you have to admit, it was pretty easy not to like you when we met." A grunt was all he got in reply. "Well, you came strolling into a highly classified Air Force function, full of high-ranking officers, brought my daughter a drink, called her by her first name, and shared smiles and glances with her for the entire time you were in the room together. Claimed you were involved in 'Deep Space Radar Telemetry,' and I can't think of a time when I've met a more unlikely desk jockey. Then I go look up your record, find most of it's classified up to ying-yang, but you've got as many black marks as commendations-"

"More, actually," Jack inserted.

Jacob glared. "As if that's something to be proud of."

Jack shrugged. "Everyone has their talents."

"- Which tells me that you're a wild card. But one who's damn good at getting out of trouble. Which means one of two things: you're exceptionally charming; or you're exceptionally good at what you do. And given that more years of your file are scrubbed than most people serve for, neither option was particularly reassuring, as a father."

A heavy silence fell over the two men, interrupted only by the breeze and the distant sound of cars on the main road. A dog could be heard barking in the distance, but neither man paid it any attention. Finally, Jack cleared his throat. "So. What changed your mind?"

Jacob shrugged. "I got to know you. I got to know George's opinion of you, I got to know Sam's opinion of you, and I got to work with you."

"That's it?" Jack's tone conveyed his genuine surprise.

"What? You don't think it's enough that I trust the opinion of my daughter and a good friend?" Jacob asked.

"No, no. I mean," Jack gesticulated wildly with his beer bottle, "It was before all the life-saving, Hell-enduring jazz?"

Jacob frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Jack looked, if Jacob wasn't mistaken, mildly abashed, and he kept his gaze averted as he responded. "Oh, you know, I figured you just felt that you had to put up with me, since SG-1 had saved your life and all."

Jacob didn't know whether to be saddened or amused. "You still annoyed the hell out of me, if it's any consolation." The half-smile that passed over Jack's face was his reward for the quip. The two men were silent for several minutes, sipping their drinks and gazing out at the sky. It wasn't too long, however, before Jacob's curiosity, augmented by Selmak's prodding, got the best of him. "You seriously thought that was the only reason I put up with you?" He watched closely for Jack's reaction.

Jack shrugged. "It wasn't meant to be a reflection on you, personally."

Jacob frowned. He hadn't even thought to be insulted. "That's not what I meant.

Jack studiously stared into the cloud cover as he replied, "It's been known to happen."

Jacob was mildly disturbed at that revelation, and it must have showed in his face because Jack sighed before continuing.

"I've been in the Air Force for my entire life, Jake." His eyes gazed off into the distance, as if he could see into the past. "Joined up under-age during 'Nam to help support my family, did good, got a degree and went to OTS. Became a test pilot for a few years, but there were a few too many of those, my family needed more money, and at that time, well, a lot of the rest of the guys knew that I wasn't your typical officer."

Jacob nodded. A lot of the AF officers at that time had been rich boys who signed up to avoid the draft. Given Jack's unique personality, he'd probably fit in better with the enlisted men than that sort of crowd.

"So, I decided to try out for the Special Forces teams." Jack paused remembering. Jacob gave him plenty of time. He'd not been a part of that elite group himself, but he'd heard the stories - most of them absolutely unpleasant and wholly heroic. "I was good at it. I fit in there. But," and Jack finally skewered Jacob with his gaze, "You learn quickly doing that sort of op the value placed on your life, and it comes down to this: you're expendable. There were a heck of a lot of missions where if you couldn't drag your sorry ass out, you could sure as hell bet that no one was coming back in for you." Jack's hands had tightened around his beer bottle, and Jacob was disconcerted to see the bone of his knuckles a glowing ghostly white in the dim porch light. "That's a large part of the reason Special Forces teams are so close – you're either all going to get out, or no one is. At least in theory," he added the last bit bitterly. The younger General paused for another minute, taking deep breathes of the cool and humid night air, bringing himself back to this moment, on his own roof, in Colorado Springs. "Even on SG-1, I knew where I stood."

Jacob gave him a sharp look. That was not something he'd ever expected from the General. "Where'd you stand, Jack?"

Jack smirked. "Between the rest of them and the universe, if I could." Jacob rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Jake. I mean – look at them! You've got Daniel, archeologist-linguist-anthropologist extraordinaire, speaks more languages than I shoot guns; Teal'c, Jaffa-warrior, great to have in battle and an enormous intelligence resource about both the universe out there and the Goa'uld's tactics; and there's Carter."

"What about Sam?"

"Astrophysicist, genius, kick-ass woman-soldier who does six extraordinary things before breakfast and saves the planet on Tuesdays." Jacob was pretty sure Jack hadn't noticed how much his own tone softened when talking about Sam, but the General gave him a dirty look anyways. "You'd think you'd know all about your daughter's brilliance by now, Jake."

Jacob gave him a mild glare. "So what about you?"

"Me?" Jack looked surprised before he chuckled. "Well, there needs to be a scapegoat and punching bag on every mission, Dad."

Jacob shook his head. He had no idea how to get Jack to see his own value, and if any part of his plan was going to succeed it would rely on Jack understanding what would be said to him soon.

"I think you underestimate your own importance, Jack," Jacob said.

Jack shook his head, but did add, "Okay, a few aliens here and there like me, but that's really the only redeeming factor that I know of, and even that's pretty weak, given the number of enemies I've made over the years."

Jacob thought maybe it was time to bring this back around to where he wanted it to be. "I think that at least one member of your team would feel differently," Jacob said.

Jack stared at the older man, beer bottle hanging limply from his hand as he watched Jacob in shock. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard, what he thought Jacob was suggesting. Suddenly, Jack felt a rush of rage. "I don't know what you think you're playing at Jacob, but I'm pretty sure you're wrong." His gaze was steely as he tried to impress the importance of this on the Tok'ra casually sipping on his beer.

Jacob remained calm, outwardly, but he could feel a surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins as Jack's anger focused on him. "I'm not 'playing' at anything, Jack, I'm simply suggesting that you're worth a lot more than you think you are." He paused, waiting until Jack seemed to calm down a little bit, before adding, "Especially to Sam." At the flash in Jack's eyes, Jacob sighed. "Look, Jack, I'm not gonna be around here for much longer," he let Selmak keep his face still as he said that, letting Jack think he meant Earth, "And I wanted to spend time with both you and Sam before I left. Not to fight, but to talk. I don't know when I'll be back, but in the meantime, I like to think that you guys are all happy and doing well." Jacob waited until Jack gave a brisk nod. The other man had spent enough time away from home to know about imagining everyone always at their best. "I don't think either of you are going to be happy when you're separate."

Jack grimaced, looking down as he replaced his empty bottle. "If you're implying what I think you're implying, Jacob, I would remind you that Colonel Carter's engaged."

"To the wrong man." Jacob watched as Jack paused, slowly lowering the bottle to the ground.

"Jacob," Jack began, his voice quiet, "Why are we having this conversation, when, if you're implying what I think you're implying, it's highly illegal, not to mention impossible?"

"I'll give you illegal, but it's not impossible." Jacob kept his voice low, but let his sincerity bleed through, "Jack, I've seen Sam with you. She's happy."

"She's_ happy_ at the SGC," snapped Jack.

"True," Jacob shrugged, "What you guys do is incredible."

"I would never ask her to give it up," warned Jack.

Jacob chuckled. "If I thought you would, we wouldn't be having this conversation." He watched Jack absorb that. "Nobody else has ever made her laugh like you do, Jack. Nobody's challenged her, but respected her like you. When she's with you, she's a better version of herself."

Jack shook his head, "I don't know what you think you've been seeing, but Carter can't be any better than she is."

Jacob snorted. "Are you denying you're in love with her, Jack? Because that sure as hell sounds like a statement a man who loves her would make."

Jack glared, and shot back, "Or, one her commanding officer who damn well knows her value to the SGC and the USAF would make."

Jacob held his gaze until Jack was forced to look away. "That's what I thought." He gave a small nod before taking a sip of his beer.

Jack sighed and wiped a hand down his face. "It doesn't matter what you think, Jacob, hell, it doesn't matter what I think." Jack looked up. "The reality is, Carter's happily engaged. And I'm her CO." He held up a finger when Jacob went to interrupt him. "Ah! No, Jacob. That's what's happening. And maybe it's harder for you to see, comin' back here so infrequently, having everything change alluva sudden, but _this is how it is._" Jack sighed. "It's how it's gonna be."

Jacob stared. Jack sounded resigned, and more than that, tired. As he looked at him, lit by the porch light, Jacob realized that Jack had gotten old. The shadows emphasized the lines in his face, at the corners of his eyes, creating creases in his cheeks. The moonlight shone off his hair, showing more silver than not these days. And more than that, his eyes were missing their usual flash of amusement. _'When did he get old?'_ he asked Selmak, only to hear her chuckle, _'When did we all?'_

"Besides, I still get to see her at work everyday, I get to watch her leading the team, I get to fight at her side on occasion, and I get to see her face light up when she discovers some new, amazing piece of technology." Jack looked up, and Jacob was relieved to see that there was still a spark of his old spirit buried in there somewhere, "Those are parts of her he'll_ never_ know. And they're pretty damn amazing parts, so if that's what I get, I'm going to take it and be happy." He stared at Jacob as if he expected the older man to object.

Jacob sighed, "Then you're a fool, Jack. A damned romantic fool, but still a fool."

Jack finished his beer, and stood up. "Aren't all men fools..." he trailed off, brushing his hands on the legs of his jeans.

Jacob finished the saying for Selmak's benefit, _'... in love.'_

Jack cleared his throat when it became obvious Jacob was having a different conversation. "If you don't mind, Jake, I'm feelin' a bit tired. Mind if I drop you back at the SGC?"

Jacob stood, a thin-lipped smile on his face. "I'll call for a car from the motor-pool." He reached out a hand, "Thanks for the beer, Jack."

Jack gripped his hand firmly. "Any time for the beer, Jacob." He tightened his grip as Jacob went to let go, "Jacob. If you bring up any of this conversation with Carter, if you upset her in any way about this, I _will_ hurt you."

Jacob glanced down at their hands, then back up at Jack. "And here I thought the girl's father threatened her suitors, not the other way around."

A smirk crept onto Jack's face. "Oh, they do."

Jacob used Selmak's strength to squeeze Jack's fingers, "Then know this: I want Sam to be happy. And if that's with you, Jack, I got over any issues I had with that years ago. I think you'd be good together." Jacob released his grip quickly, watching Jack shake out his hand as Jacob moved inside to call for a car. "Good night, Jack. Think about it."

He thought he heard a growl as the patio door closed behind him. He smirked into the darkness of the kitchen. It was true, he did like to have the last word. _'Almost as much as you like being right,'_ added Selmak, and Jacob let out a chuckle as he went to dial the SGC. He and Selmak might not have much time left, but there was at least one other conversation he needed to have, and he intended to have the last word in that one, too.

**The End.**


End file.
